“Look before, or you’ll find yourself behind.” January 1735
Benjamin Franklin’s success as a printer, postmaster general, and politician assured his place in history. Yet he was also a scientist and inventor.
He demonstrated that lightning was electrical in nature, and used that information to invent the lightning rod. He studied the Gulf Stream (actually naming it), and charted its course. The Frankling stove improved the efficiency of heating the home, and is still in use today. And some of us of a certain age appreciate his work in optics, including the invention of bifocals.
These discoveries and inventions, now considered basic knowledge in our society, were cutting edge technologies. By pushing the boundaries of what was known, Franklin changed the lives of people in the 18th century, and we still feel the impact in the present.
